Amy Reed-Gibbs

REGISTER HERE to attend the next of the Project 13 webinar series 10th April 2024 9am - 11am GMT What makes SMP Alliance such a successful example of a Project 13 Enterprise? Put simply, they have created an environment of integration and collaboration which has enabled people and organisations to achieve better outcomes. As part of the Smart Motorways Programme (SMP), National Highways recognised that to make a difference, they needed to transform not only what they did, but how they did it. That realisation led them to Project 13 and what is now one of the most mature, class-leading examples of a Project 13 Enterprise. Together, each of the seven members of the Alliance together with their wider supplier community, are embarked on a journey to realise the potential of their enterprise and unlock the benefits it can deliver. This insightful session will share experiences and learnings covering the background of SMP Alliance, its set up and mobilisation, how it works commercially and has overcome multiple challenges, as well as the real differences the Alliance it is making at scheme level. SPEAKERS John Grimm, Production Director, SMP Alliance John is committed to improving the performance of the infrastructure sector and passionately believes that the key to this is moving from traditional transactional models to collaborative win-win relationships that boost certainty and productivity to deliver better outcomes for all. He has broad infrastructure experience and has held a variety of senior leadership positions, including playing a central role in Anglian Water’s @one Alliance. In this role he led projects that were both referenced in the UK Government National Infrastructure plan as an excellent case study for sustainable construction, and used as a best practise case study in ICG’s Project 13 report ‘From Transactions to Enterprise’. John was a co-author and launched the ‘Alliancing Code of Practice’. It was this experience that led him to join National Highways in 2018 to lead delivery of the organisation’s first alliance and be a key figure on the SMP Alliance Leadership Team (ALT). John has ben the key architect for the Alliance and its strategy, with the goal of creating an industry leading way of working that will improve safety, the customer experience and deliver greater efficiency. Tony Slater, Managing Director, SMP Alliance Tony Slater has demonstrable history of successful project delivery and alliancing within civil engineering and infrastructure projects. He was appointed Managing Director of SMP Alliance by National Highways in April 2020, having previously been with Balfour Beatty on both motorway and rail projects. Based on Project 13 principles, SMP Alliance is a unique integrated enterprise comprising seven members together with a wider supplier network. The members are: National Highways as the client; Fluor as the production management partner; Jacobs and WSP as the digitally-enabled design partners; Balfour Beatty, bmJV (the BAM / Morgan Sindall Joint Venture) and Costain as the three on-site assembly partners. Tony’s has led SMP Alliance’s mission to be a high-performance enterprise that excels in delivering multiple major schemes nationally across the strategic road network. His experience and proven ability in transforming performance through authentic and committed leadership has been central to successfully overcoming the considerable challenge of mobilising this new enterprise in the middle of the COVID pandemic, and subsequently navigating multiple significant external challenges and change factors that have impacted on the Alliance’s programme scope. Peter Winnicott, Commercial & Procurement Director, SMP Alliance An RICS chartered QS with 33 years in civil engineering contracting, Peter began his early career in highways before spending 14 years in the water sector working with organisations on their transition away from transactional procurement towards more collaborative frameworks and programmatic delivery. Peter then worked on rail and highways projects with a further focus on delivering complex schemes through collaborative approaches, working closely with the client to ensure performance and commercial sustainability for both client and contractor. Projects included Dartford Freeflow, the Managed Motorway Programme and then Commercial Director on the first Smart Motorways Programme in RIS1 2015-2020 where he oversaw £1.2bn across three major schemes. He has been Commercial & Procurement Director since SMP Alliance was formed in 2020, bringing a passion for bringing the best out of people through opportunities, integrity in delivery and collaborative working to focus on collective success. Harriet Buffery, Senior Commercial Manager, SMP Alliance Harriet has extensive experience leading commercial teams on major infrastructure schemes, including multiple highways projects. She is a results-driven Senior Commercial Manager with a passion for implementing change and improving the way construction projects are managed through effective communication. Experienced in NEC contract management with a specific focus on supply chain procurement and management, Harriet champions collaboration and is an active mentor focusing on professional development and chartership. Her previous highways experience includes Senior QS for the M3 J2-4a works between 2014-2018 before being appointed Commercial Manager M4 structures between 2018-2021. Harriet joined SMP Alliance in 2021 as Commercial Manager for the M3 J9-14 scheme, where she led procurement and management of £70m Subcontract Packages under the NEC4 Alliance Framework with responsibility for all commercial reporting including cashflow forecasts, cost value reconciliations, applications, payments and valuations. Most recently she is Senior Commercial Manager for the National Emergency Area Retrofit (NEAR) south schemes.

ICE has opened the call for nominations to the ICE Awards 2024, including the Bev Waugh Award for productivity, which is of particular relevance to Project 13 Network members. ICE is encouraging Project 13 partners to nominate candidates for the award, which focuses on productivity, culture. It celebrates the success of a leader or an individual that brings people together, embodies teamwork, togetherness, and is value driven in mindset. About the Bev Waugh Award for Productivity The Bev Waugh Award was introduced in 2021 and aligns with ICE’s commitment to transform the productivity of civil engineering by acknowledging a leader or individual who has had a positive impact on joint teamwork. The award will specifically seek to recognise a leader or individual who quietly broadens the perspective of the team, leads with kindness, values the views of others, and constructively questions the status quo to create a people-centred ‘best for project’ culture. How to nominate Nominations for the Bev Waugh Award close on 13 February 2024 and must be submitted to the ICE via the ICE Awards website. Nominations should make the best case possible for the submitted leader or individual and should provide enough detail to give the Awards Committee a full picture of the nominee and their achievements. Note that nominations must be endorsed by an ICE member, and self-nominations will not be accepted. The awards ceremony will be held in October 2024 at ICE’s Great Hall in One Great George Street, London. It marks a fantastic occasion, and an opportunity to recognise outstanding civil engineering achievements and contributions to the profession and the institution. Find out more Visit the ICE Awards webpage. Questions about the Bev Waugh Award and how to nominate a leader or individual can be directed to knowledge@ice.org.uk.

Project 13 Collaboration for Innovation: The case of Wolsingham Sewage Treatment Works REGISTER HERE to join us at our Project 13 Capable Owner online event on 28th March 2023 9am - 10:30am GMT In our third event of the Capable Owner pillar group webinar series, we show how collaboration in line with Project 13 principles enables innovation by the ecosystem. This webinar will build on learning from our first 2 events: What does it mean to be a Capable Owner? and Changing the Capability Mix, by centering around the case study of the Wolsingham, Co. Durham Sewage Treatment Works. The Wolsingham, Co. Durham Sewage Treatment Works required significant upgrade to continue to meet customer needs. The principal partners, Northumbrian Water, Tilbury Douglas, and Wood Group, worked in the context of a 5+5 framework agreement to achieve nearly 70% off-site construction, complemented by significant budget and schedule savings. Key learning points from the case will highlight: - Collaboration does not yield innovation immediately, but requires the development of trust over time; - The importance of including representatives of operations in the innovation process; - The need for owners to set clear expectations to which the ecosystem can respond. Speakers: Andrew Page, Anglian Water (chair) Graham Winch, Manchester Business School Shane Davis, Yorkshire Water Richard Seales, Northumbrian Water Michelle Johnson, WSP

Click here to download This cross-industry code provides a structure for good practice that allows for constructive challenge, supporting effective decision-making. This will lead to better project outcomes for stakeholders, society, and the world. As an industry, we are acutely aware of the significant challenges that face us. Not least the climate crisis, but also the pressures created by a growing global population with expectations of better living standards. We must now act more effectively, and with greater urgency, to address these challenges and deliver positive outcomes not only for those sponsoring and developing projects but also for society and the world. Good governance is critical to enabling such outcomes. Led by the Project 13 Governance Pillar Development Group, and developed collaboratively by practitioners for practitioners across our industry, the Infrastructure Governance Code is structured around principles organised into six themes, to be used on a ‘comply or explain’ basis, underpinned by supporting provisions. The collaborative approach has been crucial to ensuring the code is fit for purpose and widely applicable. It provides a structured system of good practice allowing for constructive challenge that creates the right environment for effective decision-making – which, in turn, will lead to better outcomes. The code has been formally endorsed by: The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) The Association for Project Management (APM The Major Projects Association (MPA)

Watch the second in the Project 13 Capable Owner Pillar series of events to hear how broadening the talent pool can aid collaborative working at an enterprise level and across individual projects. Three Project 13 Adopters joined the event to share their experiences and perspectives on how their organisation is mobilising a broader mix of diverse talent to achieve its aims, hosted by Andrew Page, Co-Chair of Project 13 Capable Owner Development Group. Speakers · John Grimm - Smart Motorways Programme (SMP) Alliance Deputy Director at National Highways · Stewart Craigie, Technical Director at Sweco on behalf of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) · Jo Theobald, Performance Director at Public Sewer Services for Anglian Water Alliances You can watch the video of the event here: “A Capable Owner must identify opportunities.” John Grimm kicked off the discussion by providing the background to National Highways and the vastness of the smart motorways project which has an efficiency target of £2.3bn. “Although we have followed and adopted a lot of the Project 13 ‘thinking’ for many years, we have only recently become an official Project 13 adopter and joined the wider community. One of the key drivers behind this is the scale and scope of the smart motorway delivery targets. To achieve our objectives, we needed to move away from transactional delivery models to improve productivity, and to make the highways sector a more attractive proposition for the supply chain. Through adopting an integrated delivery model and establishing collaborative relationships across our supplier community, we’re able to collectively increase capability and capacity across the wider sector.” This SMP Alliance has been created with the sole intention to deliver the government’s smart motorway project over the next 10 years. The vision is to make road networks safer, greener, and more efficient. “We’ve created a delivery model that is led by National Highways and our six delivery partners. The smart motorways program will be delivered by a single integrated team operating under a single contract with shared outcomes, these outcomes are aligned with all parties under a one, common commercial and performance framework. The fundamental of this approach means that all risks and reward are shared.” John continued to explore the key attributes that a capable owner must embody: Recruiting, building, and retaining talent - Understanding the value proposition and the capabilities and skills that are required to support delivery. In addition, recruiting from the supply chain is a valuable strategy particularly on a long-term project like the SMP as there is plenty of opportunity to upskill throughout the project journey. Value Driven Mindset - A capable owner must support the alliance in its key functions, particularly with governance, defining output and defining operations and the voice of the customer. A capable owner must also work alongside delivery partners as an enabler to support delivery outcomes. Creating Opportunity - The capable owner must identify products and processes that can be used efficiently across the alliance. It must draw value through logistics and develop new ways of working, it must also develop data use so that intelligence can be garnered and utilised. This ties neatly into digital requirements – this is a skillset that capable owners must nurture and harness to drive organisational value across the enterprise. “We need two kilograms of innovation please.” Up next was Stuart Craigie from BAM / Sweco. Stuart discussed a fascinating project on behalf of the British Antarctic Survey. The project is the construction of an international airport in Antarctica, but the scope of works goes much further. It includes marine works, operations and science buildings, runway enhancements, accommodation buildings and hangars. This diverse portfolio of projects would be challenging under any circumstances, but as the team can only be onsite seasonally for four to five months, there are many other factors at play. Of course, the broad diversity of projects insists on a broad range of skills to support delivery. “Due to the complexity of the project, we had to open our eyes and welcome a collaborative model and enterprise delivery route. We adopted a four-pronged approach that can be summarised under four simple questions.” Where do we find our innovation? “The scale and diversity of this project is huge. It is also incredibly unique due to its environment, which means we have to offer continual insight and innovation. Our approach is to steer away from simple ‘asking / telling’ people to do things, and rather inform people of what outcomes we need. This breeds a culture of trust and opens the doors for new ways of working and creating new solutions to old problems.” How do we engage innovation? “We use a range of tools, including Government Soft Landings which allows us to outline what we’re trying to achieve and how we are going to track it. We also use Information Management tools, yes BIM is integral to this but it’s the project management aspect and process mapping that steers us towards outcome related planning. We also created a Modern Methods of Construction guide that sets out our key drivers and our identified parameters and outcomes.” How do we create collaboration? “We have created a project directorate to develop strategy and a high-level responsibility matrix that project managers can breakdown and distribute across teams to create engagement. It’s also important to note that innovation isn’t something we can just ask for at any point. Innovation needs to be nurtured through understanding and collaboration and drawn upon at the right times throughout a project. By working together, we can assess capability and create a culture that works for each other, rather than for an organisation.” “Courage to Challenge.” Lastly, Jo Theobald drives home the need for ‘people persons’ and looking across sectors for transferrable skills and characteristics. As Performance Director at Anglian Water Alliance’s Public Sewer Services, Jo started her career in the banking sector and moved on to direct high performing teams. The contrast from banking to the drainage sector is stark, but Jo stressed how certain skills, temperament and character can suit many sectors, no matter how different. “The core Project 13 principles of innovation, collaboration and transformation are vital in informing how we behave as a business, it informs our culture and impacts our sector. As a wider industry we are all faced with the same challenges – we have a skills gap. However, we must look outside of the box and have the faith and belief that non-industry skills can be of huge benefit to an organisation. The days of blinkered recruitment are over, we must look at those with different experience so that we can learn from each other. Enabling their leap of faith. “An example of embracing alternative sectors is reflected in our decision to look at ex-army personnel. We have a gentleman in our business that had a HGV license and safety training. After practical training with our delivery teams, it was clear that he was a natural leader with a keen eye for processes and continuous improvement. Now, he is a senior leader of our Alliance." “A further example, which may be considered a curveball, is a gentleman from the aviation industry. We recognised that we needed somebody that was used to working in harsh environments, able to remain calm under pressure and possess an unwavering focus on equipment and operational safety. The aviation sector was a natural place for our investigation because the individuals would possess the mindset we required.” These are just two examples Jo presented, but two that highlight the importance of characteristics and mindset, rather than specific qualifications or experience. Jo expressed the need to look further afield for transferrable skills and have the ‘power not to discount’ any individual when fishing in a different talent pool. Following the speaker’s presentations further questions were raised about broadening the talent pool, agile leadership and the challenges encountered when moving away from traditional recruitment and operational models. If you would like to learn more about Project 13 and how we are supporting change in infrastructure, sign up to the Project 13 Network. You can watch the first event in the series: What does it mean to be a Capable Owner? here.

Register here to join us at our Project 13 Capable Owner online event on 20th September 2022 at 9am BST. Following the success of our first event, ‘What does it mean to be a Capable Owner?’, the Project 13 Capable Owner Pillar team are now delving deeper into the ideal makeup of a Capable Owner team at their next event on 20th September 2022 at 9am BST. With a wide range of perspectives, we’ll be exploring how an organisation can mobilise a broader mix of diverse talent to achieve its aims based on the matrix of individual capabilities. Join us to hear some direct experiences from: · John Grimm, National Highways Smart Motorways Programme with the Project 13 Enterprise team perspective, will share the journey of the latest Project 13 Adopter to create the enabling environment to attract and retain individuals with the right capabilities. · Stewart Craigie, part of the British Antarctic Society’s supplier ecosystem, with a supplier’s perspective, including exploring how the supplier can bring innovation earlier in the process. · Jo Theobald, Public Sewer Services, will bring an individual’s perspective on how curveball talent can make an impact from someone with a non-traditional background. You can find out more about the Project 13 Pillars: Capable Owner, Governance, Organisations, Integration and Digital Transformation in the Project 13 Network - a vibrant, knowledge-sharing community for all those interested in delivering infrastructure differently. Speakers: Andrew Page (Co-chair) Lucy Howard (Co-chair) John Grimm Stewart Craigie Joanne Theobald

Register here to join us at our Project 13 Capable Owner online event on 20th September 2022 at 9am BST. Following the success of our first event, ‘What does it mean to be a Capable Owner?’, the Project 13 Capable Owner Pillar team are now delving deeper into the ideal makeup of a Capable Owner team at their next event on 20th September 2022 at 9am BST. With a wide range of perspectives, we’ll be exploring how an organisation can mobilise a broader mix of diverse talent to achieve its aims based on the matrix of individual capabilities. Join us to hear some direct experiences from: · John Grimm, National Highways Smart Motorways Programme with the Project 13 Enterprise team perspective, will share the journey of the latest Project 13 Adopter to create the enabling environment to attract and retain individuals with the right capabilities. · Stewart Craigie, part of the British Antarctic Society’s supplier ecosystem, with a supplier’s perspective, including exploring how the supplier can bring innovation earlier in the process. · Jo Theobald, Public Sewer Services, will bring an individual’s perspective on how curveball talent can make an impact from someone with a non-traditional background. You can find out more about the Project 13 Pillars: Capable Owner, Governance, Organisations, Integration and Digital Transformation in the Project 13 Network - a vibrant, knowledge-sharing community for all those interested in delivering infrastructure differently. Speakers: Andrew Page (Co-chair) Lucy Howard (Co-chair) John Grimm Stewart Craigie Joanne Theobald

7th April 2022 9-10:30am Register here Join us at our Project 13 Capable Owner event to explore the key steps and desired individual skillsets to becoming a Capable Owner in your projects. With expert research and industry examples from Project 13 adopters, we will discover how to adopt Capable Ownership into your organisation to effectively deliver better outcomes. The Capable Owner pillar is one of five Project 13 pillar’s that come together to create an enterprise model for infrastructure delivery. This model brings together owners, partners, advisers and suppliers, working in more integrated and collaborative arrangements, underpinned by long term relationships. This is the first of a series of events around the Project 13 pillar groups: Capable Owner, Organisation, Governance, Integration and Digital Transformation. We will be hearing from Andrew Page on his research into the six key steps to being a capable owner and how Anglian Water are following alternative routes for financing, designing, building, and operating assets that their customers rely on in their daily lives. This will be followed by industry examples from Project 13 adopters, Sellafield and Scottish Water, where we will learn about their journeys in adopting the Project 13 model and how they overcame any challenges whilst doing so. Background: As part of its wider role, the Capable Owner develops sustainable enterprises built on long term business to business (b2b) relationships. Traditional hierarchical relationships are replaced with aligned and collaborative b2b relationships, with a collective focus on delivering the outcomes required. The right partners are selected based on capability and behaviours and work within incentivised value-based arrangements. Enterprises are brought together to deliver the outcomes required (customer and societal) and to enable business performance. The focus on outcomes provides a back-to-back alignment through all parts of the Enterprise. Capable Owners can articulate the required outcomes, with processes in place to ensure these outcomes effectively represent the requirements of customers, community and society. A capable owner will be able to describe the asset performance required to achieve these outcomes and will engage with partners and stakeholders in delivering outcomes and asset performance. Through best practice assembly and exchange, community engagement through this portal, and opportunities to get involved in the debate, the Capable Owner pillar explores the following key areas of capable ownership to maximise the potential of their infrastructure systems: Articulating the voice of the customer. Being value driven in mindset. Articulating the voice of operations. Relating to the supply chain. Creating complex systems. Recruiting, building and retaining talent. Join the Project 13 community and the Capable Owner team to find out more. Speakers: Lucy Howard Andrew Page Richard Lennard Paul Sexton

7th April 2022 9-10:30am BST Register here Join the Project 13 Capable Owner Pillar to explore the key steps and desired individual skillsets to becoming a Capable Owner in your projects. With expert research and industry examples from Project 13 Adopters, you will discover how to adopt Capable Ownership into your organisation to effectively deliver better outcomes. The Capable Owner pillar is one of five Project 13 Pillar’s that come together to create an enterprise model for infrastructure delivery. This model brings together owners, partners, advisers and suppliers, working in more integrated and collaborative arrangements, underpinned by long term relationships. This is the first of a series of Project 13 Network events around the Project 13 Pillar Groups: Capable Owner, Organisation, Governance, Integration and Digital Transformation. We will be hearing from Andrew Page on his research into the six key steps to being a capable owner and how Anglian Water are following alternative routes for financing, designing, building, and operating assets that their customers rely on in their daily lives. This will be followed by industry examples from Project 13 adopters, Sellafield and Scottish Water, where we will learn about their journeys in adopting the Project 13 model and how they overcame any challenges whilst doing so. Background: As part of its wider role, the Capable Owner develops sustainable enterprises built on long term business to business (b2b) relationships. Traditional hierarchical relationships are replaced with aligned and collaborative b2b relationships, with a collective focus on delivering the outcomes required. The right partners are selected based on capability and behaviours and work within incentivised value-based arrangements. Enterprises are brought together to deliver the outcomes required (customer and societal) and to enable business performance. The focus on outcomes provides a back-to-back alignment through all parts of the Enterprise. Capable Owners can articulate the required outcomes, with processes in place to ensure these outcomes effectively represent the requirements of customers, community and society. A capable owner will be able to describe the asset performance required to achieve these outcomes and will engage with partners and stakeholders in delivering outcomes and asset performance. Through best practice assembly and exchange, community engagement through the Project 13 Network , and opportunities to get involved in the debate, the Capable Owner pillar explores the following key areas of capable ownership to maximise the potential of their infrastructure systems: Articulating the voice of the customer. Being value driven in mindset. Articulating the voice of operations. Relating to the supply chain. Creating complex systems. Recruiting, building and retaining talent. Sign up to the Project 13 Network and the Capable Owner team to find out more. Speakers: @Lucy Howard @Andrew Page @Richard Lennard @Paul Sexton

Author: Mark Berg, A14 Integrated Delivery Team and Costain senior project director More than 14,000 people have worked together as one team over the past five years to transform 21 miles of strategic A-road network connecting the Midlands with ports in the East of England. Jim O’Sullivan, CEO of Highways England was proud to declare that the A14 is the only £bn+ project in Europe that has been delivered ahead of programme (eight months) and on budget. The first phase of the Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme was completed a year ahead of schedule, and the second eight months early with £196m in efficiencies realised against the client target of £108m. One of the questions I’m often asked is ‘how?’. More than meets the eye You see a road project, We see data driving success watch video This complex scheme involved widening the existing road to a three and four-lane dual carriageway and improvements to over 20 miles of local road network. It was delivered by a Costain, Skanska and Balfour Beatty contractor joint-venture, working alongside designers Atkins and Jacobs, as an Integrated Delivery Team (IDT) with client, Highways England, supported by various strategic supply chain partners. From the start, the IDT wanted to set a new standard for major project delivery, and to do that, we’d need to foster a high performing culture of collaboration, continuous improvement and innovation. In this article, I’ll explain how we used data and digital tools to help us achieve this, and how we built trust - in the information and in each other - to deliver on budget, ahead of time, and with a strong safety record. Mark Berg with Grant Shapps, Secretary of State Identifying the optimum pavement solution With the largest pavement package of its time to be awarded, the IDT needed to identify the optimum commercial pavement solution, with efficiency and sustainability at heart. Tendering pavement contractors were provided with all available data from the outset and tasked with value engineering the pavement design to use local sources and minimise impact on the surrounding communities. The winning solution would lead to c.£5m cost saving efficiencies. Creating a collaborative environment We knew that one of our most significant challenges would be bringing together five delivery partners, our client Highways England and suppliers, and enabling people to work effectively - on site and remotely. Our solution was to create environments that supported collaboration. From the outset we set-up system access for all site offices to be the same, so people could move seamlessly from one physical space to another, without the hassle of accessing unknown systems. Consistency also helped us build a ‘one team' mentality. But the scale of the project meant we had to go further to strengthen people’s connections with each other. At the commencement of work on site in 2016, the Office 365 tools many of us rely on now were just being released to the market. We worked with Microsoft to maximise the benefits of them so people could work from anywhere and still share information and ideas. Agreeing strong leadership and common ways of working To ensure we had a high performing, Integrated Delivery Management Team (IDMT), a competency framework was developed and used to select the right person for the right role, with a strong focus on collaborative skills, behaviours and leadership qualities as well as technical expertise. This behaviours-led methodology was extended across the project and incorporated into supply chain procurement. Every organisation involved in the project had its own way of working, so our next step was to develop a shared vision, values, culture and quality management system, or integrated management system as we called it, that established clear and consistent processes to guide our work. To do this, we drew on best practice from all joint venture partners. The initiative, which was led by the work streams rather than a central team, created a common way of working for the project - ‘the A14 way’ - that people could relate to. Establishing a single source of truth As a leadership team, we had to make timely decisions on behalf of Highways England. We also wanted to be open with our client, partners and suppliers about our progress and performance in key areas. To achieve this, we created a cloud-based platform to hold project data and act as a single source of truth. We then spent six to 12 months working with our client to refine the content and frequency of the reports that would be generated from it. We established what we referred to as a ‘rhythm’ to ensure we could deliver on the commitments we made. Beginning with the end of month report that was aligned to Highways England’s objectives, we asked ourselves what data was required to produce that document. We then put a schedule in place to ensure the information would be available in time. Making data accessible Building trust in the data that helped us build trust in each other To build trust in the single source of truth, we started by encouraging people to move data from spreadsheets to our cloud-based platform, so we could unlock the value of the data that was held within individual, digital tools such as Oracle’s Primavera P6, Business Collaborator, Mosaic and EnterpriseOne – systems which normally don’t talk to each other. But in doing so, we were also asking people to embrace a more collaborative and open approach – and that took time to develop. At first, some people feared the data would be used to point out where they might be under-delivering, and – understandably – they were reluctant to share information. We worked hard to drive change from the top down. As a leadership team, we demonstrated the trust we’d developed in each other, and shared data to promote transparency and keep people informed. Having robust data to hand built our client’s and colleagues’ trust, enabled us to take an objective view of performance and identify areas of work that would benefit from receiving greater support. Then, when it was clear the data was being used to inform and empower colleagues, people embraced it. Within six months, many realised its value, and a year on, they wanted to contribute even more. We also made sure that information was accessible - to our partners, colleagues and supply chain. The data was brought to life through dashboards that were displayed on 79 digital signs installed at three main compounds, two sub compounds and permanent welfare facilities across the 35km site. Democratising data to enhance productivity, safety and innovation Instead of asking colleagues to take a leap of faith, it was important to demonstrate the benefits of data – that is, provide the information they needed to respond to challenges or opportunities. Several examples are below. Productivity The IDT developed an app called Andon, which enabled our surfacing works partner, Aggregate Industries and our slipform partner PJ Davidson, to monitor in real time when work on site was either ongoing, had paused or stopped, using digital signage in the construction operations office just like a control room. On a project of this scale, if someone is unable to start work because of delays in another area, it can have a significant impact on the schedule. Having access to up-to-date data enabled us to boost surfacing productivity by 50%, Cement Bound Granular Material (CBGM) pavement by 50% and slip barrier and drainage by 30%. Health, Safety and Wellbeing Safety observation cards provide valuable insight into safety culture. But when we introduced our Observation app, the number of safety observations increased from around 500 to more than 4,000 per month. More importantly, the data we collated demonstrated that as the number of positive observations increased, negative ones decreased, and the number of incidents reduced. That showed us how important it is to recognise the right behaviours. Making the data visible helped us maintain our positive approach. Innovation A team called the ‘Red Team’ was set up to reach out to the wider workforce when we needed help to solve difficult problems. The digital signs in the offices were used to share people’s good ideas and demonstrate how they were making an impact. In one case, we were struggling to find a way to build two bridges over the existing A14 without significantly impacting drivers or our schedule. Inspired by a solution he’d seen on YouTube, a young engineer responded to our call for suggestions. He put forward a plan to construct the bridges off-site, transport them to the area, and lift them into position. We worked with the engineer to develop the idea and conducted a digital rehearsal to demonstrate to our client that the innovative approach could work. The result was two bridges were installed in one weekend, which meant we avoided 80 night-time full closures of the A14. Having a consistent and reliable data source also enabled us to explore the potential of predictive technologies. As work on the scheme progressed we worked with Highways England and Microsoft on a pilot study into the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand how 140 different factors influenced the risk to workers, for example, working time, incidents and observations, ratios of supervisors to different operational roles and schedule activities. The information was shared with our safety teams, who could carefully monitor the situation on site. The pilot achieved 75 percent accuracy, which reduced to 65 percent after rollout, due to a decrease in incidents. The technology proved to be more than 160 percent accurate compared with a statistically random guess. Sharing data and lessons learned The cultural and digital initiatives the IDT implemented on the A14 improvement scheme helped us build people’s trust in each other and in the data. The digital solutions and real time reporting enabled the project to stay on programme and be handed over early. It’s worth noting that less than one percent of the total budget was allocated to these digital initiatives. Our team won the prestigious Digital Initiative of the Year award (Civils) and Overall Initiative of the Year award at the British Construction Industry Awards in 2019 and was the first project to achieve 44001 collaborative accreditation. The hope is that the cultural methodology, digital approach and data leveraged on this project will help the many projects that follow. Costain has evolved many of the digital tools developed on the A14 such as the Power BI dashboards, Safety Observation and Andon Apps as part of our own smart delivery platform (SDP). The SDP will soon enable data to be the fulcrum on all complex programmes in a similar way. In addition, we’ve leveraged our experience to help create the Intelligent Infrastructure Control Centre (IICC) which federates data at project, framework and enterprise level. Through tools such as these, data’s power to make infrastructure delivery safer, faster, greener and more efficient can be grown exponentially